


Gifts

by Kithri, themanwhowas



Series: Mixed Signals [4]
Category: Worm - Wildbow
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-02
Updated: 2017-09-02
Packaged: 2018-12-23 03:31:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11981211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kithri/pseuds/Kithri, https://archiveofourown.org/users/themanwhowas/pseuds/themanwhowas
Summary: A mutual crossover withCompletely Unoriginal, set after the canon ending of that story. This belongs to the same continuity asHow to Win Friends and Influence PeopleandPost-Mortem.Fax gives Astrid a gift. She accepts it with her usual level of grace and lack of awkwardness.





	Gifts

"Hey, Astrid. You busy?"

I glanced at the clock, only a little bleary-eyed. Six AM already? Jesus, these fugues everybody warned me about were no joke. For a moment I felt bad about waking her up...

"In the gym at the moment. Will be done in an hour. Or I can be ready now if it's urgent."

Of course she was already awake.

"Nah, hour's fine. I should take a shower anyway, up all night working. Text me when you're ready and I'll pop in."

"When you say 'pop in,' do you mean literally? Because I'll have to alert Security. You remember what happened last time."

If a text message could convey judgement... I, of course, was immune.

"Haha, all the foam. At least we managed to get Dennis foamed at the same time. And don't worry, I've given them a heads up already. But yes. Screw doors and hallways."

"Just make sure you pop into the designated area." And, a moment later, "But yeah, Dennis being foamed made the paperwork more than worth it."

"The best part was the two of us leaving him behind in the foam."

"Did I tell you I persuaded Clary in Security to give me a photo of Dennis being sprayed with solvent? He looked so bedraggled, you would not believe."

"Priceless! Anyway, text me when you're ready."

"Will do."

  


\---

Astrid was waiting there when I teleported in with a crack. She barely even twitched at my appearance, even though the brief spike of alarm she felt was fairly noticeable to my empathic sight. "You're up early," was all she said in greeting. "Want some coffee?"

"Up late," I corrected her. "And hell yes. Rocket fuel special?"

"Yeah," she said, smiling a little. "You're about the only one who doesn't complain when I make it that strong." She started to head for the kitchen. "So, what's this about? Or should I wait until you've got some caffeine in you?" Somewhat quieter, and with only a little resentment, she added, "Not that you really need it."

"Old habits die hard," I answered with a smile. Even if the habits aren't mine... I shook my head, clearing out that thought. "Anyway, I made a thing!" With a flourish, I pulled a cardboard box out of nowhere, hastily wrapped with the extra time her exercise had afforded me, and handed it over.

"Okay," she said, giving me an odd look. "You want me to open this?" Almost as an afterthought, she added, "Help yourself to coffee."

I did. It was delicious.

I declined to make some snarky comment about me handing her a gift-wrapped box and then telling her it was for someone else. She'd have believed me. And it would have delayed my triumph.

"Open it," I didn't-quite-insist with a grin.

She did so, carefully unsticking the sticky tape and neatly unwrapping the paper. I almost suspected she was using her power. Certainly she was exhibiting patience, despite the blazing curiosity I could see was practically eating her alive. Eventually, she revealed the box's contents. "A bracelet?" she asked. She frowned slightly as she lightly ran her fingertips over the metal. "A Tinkertech bracelet."

My grin threatened to split my face in half. "Make something with the metal bits." It was a broad, layered piece of electronics and metal, with a ruggedized rubber outer layer and a few discreet blinkies and status monitors. All green, I was pleased to see. The inner layer, pressed against where her arm would be, was a simple, flat layer of polished steel.

"Okay," she said. A small frown wrinkled her brow, but that faded as she sank into her power. Not all the way, but further than she would have done back when we had first met. Filaments extruded from the metal; first thin, hairlike strands, but then thickening into vine-thick cables. Like vines, they twined around her fingers, her hand, her arm, many times over the volume of the metal in the bracelet. "There's more metal," she breathed, perhaps a little redundantly.

I resisted the urge to fist-pump in triumph. I knew it would work, of course. Pretty sure. Almost totally confident.

To her quiet exclamation, I simply replied, "Yeap!"

She looked at me in sheer puzzlement, still absently manipulating the metal, making it twist and flow and trace out little fractal patterns on her skin. "Where does it come from?"

"I have no idea!" At her look, I explained, "Not my work, originally. A Ward in New York had a Tinkertech arbalest that could generate infinite lengths of chain. Pretty neat, right?"

"Huh," she mused thoughtfully, eyeing the bracelet with blatant covetousness. "Interesting." Severing the metal tendrils from the bracelet, she reluctantly put the lid back on the box and held it out to me. "Well done," she told me, with utter sincerity. "This is fucking awesome."

I looked at the proffered box quizzically. "What? No. It's yours." I resisted the urge to add 'obviously', poor girl. How horrible would that have been?

She blinked at me for a moment, seeming completely nonplussed. "Mine?" she asked, after a moment. "You're... giving this to me?" Another moment, suspicion flickering in her aura. "This is Tinkertech. It's valuable. Why would you give it to me?" At least she didn't ask me what I'd want in return that time. So... progress?

I did my best not to show how sad I was that that was still her instinctive reaction to kindness.

To answer her question, though, "I needed the practice. Still getting used to this whole 'Tinker' thing." I beamed, just a bit. "Got the whole thing under twelve percent of the size and power draw from the original arbalest."

"Impressive," she murmured distractedly, the bulk of her attention on the box. Lifting the lid off and setting it aside, she picked the bracelet up, only occasionally giving me wary little glances as if expecting me to say I'd changed my mind. When I didn't take it back, she relaxed a little, giving me a small but sincere smile. "Thank you." Uncertainty flaring up again in her aura, she added, "But I'd understand if you wanted it back. Like I said, it's pretty fucking valuable."

Gah, how else to... Oh, right! "If it helps, I'm also conscripting you as a beta tester. Here's the documentation." And then there was a whole binder from nowhere. Some of Colin's habits were more influential than others; extremely thorough instructions seemed to be among the former.

The last traces of suspicion faded noticeably at that. There was still some uncertainty, but she put the box down and accepted the binder with apparent cheerfulness. "I can do that!" she said, brightly, flicking through the binder. "I help out some of the researchers at the Northeast facility sometimes." She shrugged a little self-consciously. "My power's useful for that kind of thing." Her attention quickly settled on the bracelet again, uncertainty and covetousness tangled in her aura as she asked, "You're really sure you won't want this back?"

I resisted the urge to sigh, instead giving her a simple warm smile. "I'm sure. Besides, I can probably make it smaller." I glanced at it, letting loose the reins on my... Armsmaster's Tinker power, just for a moment. "I'm also about ninety percent sure I can make it generate beer."

She looked at the bracelet, and then back up at me, and her smile practically lit up her face, her aura glowing with unalloyed happiness. It was a rare look for her. "Thank you," she said, softly but sincerely. If anyone else had looked at me like that, I might have expected a tight hug, but since it was Astrid... Her smile still did wonders. "This really is amazing."

I basked in the warmth of her genuine happiness like it was Purity's sunshine. Such a rare treat, and all the more so considering its source.

Self-consciousness set in a few short moments later, of course, but the happiness remained. "Not sure why you'd want it to make beer," she said, but the disapproval in her voice was softened by the smile still hovering at the corners of her lips. "But each to their own." She slipped on the bracelet, drawing forth more metal to add to the cables and tendrils already wrapped around her arm, losing herself in her power to an extent I hadn't seen before. Her gaze was unfocused. Or, rather, focused inwards.

Under her control, the metal started to form itself into a figure. It was heavily stylised at first, but then more and more details filled in. The power armour; the halberd. The goatee. When it was finished, she set the statue of Armsmaster carefully down on the kitchen table, fiddling with the pose a few times before finally seeming satisfied. And more than a little self-conscious.

"What do you think?"

I took in the sight of the figure taking shape before my eyes in silence, a torrent of feelings - mine and otherwise - rushing through me.

"...Damnit, you're gonna make me cry again."

"Um, sorry, but please don't," she said quickly, awkwardly. "If you do, there's kitchen roll on the counter behind you." Not giving me the chance to respond, she abruptly gestured at the statue. "Would you like this? I mean, it's fine if not. I just thought... I don't know." With what seemed like an effort, she broke off and took a breath. A little gruffly, she added. "Think of it as a thank you for the bracelet."

A tissue appeared in my hands, sparing her the trouble. It disappeared just as quickly, and with clear eyes I took in her offer with a small, slightly-sad smile. "I'd love it. Thank you." As an afterthought, I added "Consider us even, then."

She looked at the statue, and the bracelet, doubt and suspicion spiking briefly in her aura before happiness and gratitude swallowed them up. "I will," she said, and her face lit up once more with that brilliantly happy smile. "Thank you."

We said our goodbyes, then. Despite her gloriously strong coffee, I needed actual sleep.

After all, there were more people I needed to upgrade to S-class threats. I wondered what I could do with Clockblocker?

At that thought, I smiled.

Armsmaster had ideas.

**Author's Note:**

> This is a collaborative effort with themanwhowas to continue the surprisingly workable crossover between our stories.
> 
> I think gifts are always going to mean a lot to Astrid, and she's probably always going to feel ridiculously happy about being given presents. At least once she gets over the initial suspicion and the fear that someone's just going to snatch it back again. She hasn't yet thought through just how much more powerful and versatile having an unlimited source of metal is going to make her, but when she does, she might actually hug Fax. I'm sure nothing bad will come of this...
> 
> As before, it has been an absolute pleasure to write and collaborate with the author of the fantastic story Completely Unoriginal. Check it out!


End file.
